...Human beings have always longed to be accepted by others and often conform to the ideas and beliefs of those around them in hopes of being accepted. In Arthur Miller's, The Crucible, Reverend Hale, perhaps one of the men who are to blame for the trials, is a prime example of one’s desire to be accepted and needed all while questioning the actions of society. His transformation from an overzealous scholar to a man who regrets his own actions contributes to the meaning of the play. In Act I of the play, Reverend Hale was called over to Salem from a nearby village to examine Parris’s daughter, Betty, for signs of witchcraft. Miller describes Hale as an “eager-eyed intellectual,” who saw this call as a “beloved errand.” Miller continues to write how, “he [Reverend Hale] felt the pride of the specialist whose unique knowledge [of witchcraft and diabolism] has at last been publicly called for.” With this description of Hale, the audience can sense his eagerness to please those who called upon him. Practically blinded by this opportunity to show off his knowledge of the situation, Hale almost immediately jumps to the possibility of witchcraft and pushes for the confessions and testimonies of...
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...through the Characterization of Reverend John Hale Throughout The Crucible, Arthur Miller uses the characterization of an archetypal hero, Reverend John Hale, to reveal how when arrogant and nationalistic pride becomes involved even the most intelligent and moral man’s moral compass can be distorted. This universal truth and Hale’s archetypal characteristics were revealed by Miller to reprehend those who fell into McCarthyism and the flaws in the American society in the nineteen-fifties, which were impacts of their blinded morals. To comprehend the idea of this specific universal truth, one first must understand Hale’s characterization through Aristotle’s archetypal hero traits. The first criteria, Noble...
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...------------------------------------------------- Character Progression and Development of Reverend John Hale in The Crucible The character of Reverend Hale, in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, experiences a profound, dramatic and transformative personal evolution from when he comes to Salem in Act One through the climax in the third act. In the final act, in this progression, his identity by profession is challenged when he is confronted with the realization of an unjust, immoral community, and he responds with integrity and moral truth by abandoning his assigned mission of “witch hunter” in order to truly save others. When Reverend Hale first comes onto the scene, he is a pious and revered minister who was summoned by Reverend Parris because of his expertise on uncovering witchcraft. Reverend Hale presents as a strict and dedicated professional; he is confident, even arrogant as to his education, knowledge and, his authoritative role as expert, and falls back upon the fact that Salem needs him to resolve the unrest and chaos in the community. The hysteria in Salem is clearly exacerbated by Hale’s investigation; but initially, Hale is fueled by his charge to rid Salem of witchcraft and his self-assurance in that role, Hale finds himself, in the end, questioning his own integrity and his moral beliefs when he realizes that the witchcraft accusations were false. He has to battle his own internal guilt and regret for the needless suffering of other accused and persecuted which...
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...The tarnishing of one’s reputation and personal integrity is something that many people fear and this is shown through the characters in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Cotton Mather’s Wonders of the Invisible World and John Hale’s A Modest Enquiry into the Nature of Witchcraft. The Crucible is a play about the Salem witch trials and the characters who are accused and judged based off of their reputation. Each character’s perception is different than what the actual reality is of the witchcraft because they have their own views about this trial. In Cotton Mather’s Wonders of the Invisible World, Cotton Mather is warning the townspeople about the devil taking control of their lives. He encourages them to take action and do something about it,...
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...Miller’s The Crucible. Reverend Hale, a character in The Crucible, undergoes a dramatic and significant character development and change throughout the plot, which consists of being humbled because of new information and events, which changes him as a person to one who is more aware and logical. Reverend Hale’s personality changed and softened from the beginning to the end of the text. His initial mindset can be seen when he says his books are “weighted with authority” (Act I, Page 36). This metaphor implies he considers his books to be a symbol of education and, therefore, authority. With such a mindset, he likely is slightly arrogant and thinks of himself as a great religious leader. Later in the text, Hale says, “I come to do the Devil’s work. I come to counsel Christians they should belie themselves” (Act IV,...
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...Imagine you condemned 72 innocent people to death, believing they were guilty, and then discovered that you were wrong. This is the life of Reverend Hale, a character in Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, whose actions and inactions greatly impact the lives of the other characters. In Act I, Reverend Hale appears and acts very haughtily. He believes he knows everything about witches and that he is the savior of Salem. For instance, when he says, “Here is all the invisible world, caught, defined, and calculated… Here are all your familiar spirits - your incubi and succubi… Have no fear now - we shall find him out and I mean to crush him utterly if he has shown his face!” he is displaying his haughtiness by bragging about his intellect (1106). Later, he uses his Reverend status to persuade the accused to confess. By saying, “The Devil can never overcome a minister” he is showing his overconfidence and ignorance by believing that ministers are invincible (1110)....
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...way of thinking. Being part of a shameful situation can make a person become fully aware of the kind of person they are and prompt them to reform themselves. In The Crucible, the Reverend Hale is depicted as an honorable man caught up in a dishonorable situation. A character, Snowball, from the book, Animal Farm, similarly was in a dishonorable situation. In The Crucible, Reverend John Hale is summoned to the town of Salem to seek out and expel any signs of witchcraft within it. Hale does, however, have good intentions to help the afflicted people of Salem. Unfortunately, in his hunt to remove witchcraft from the town, Hale lets others around him, such as Abigail, manipulate him into making wrong decisions. When Hale arrives to Salem, he is overwhelmed with false accusations and evidence from Abigail and other girls who do and say whatever Abigail tells them to. The pressure from the town to diagnose witchcraft gets in Hale’s head and causes him to take the false evidence and accusations as the truth without conducting an investigation into it. Hale later realizes Abigail is a fraud...
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...Crucible/Central park five In The Crucible and Central Park Five people are being wrongly accused to either death or life ruining situations. In the crucible there is a breakout of witchcraft and people are losing their lives. Also their is an affair between John Proctor and Abigail. In the Central Park five innocent boys and men are accused of rape and assault. In the play the crucible by Arthur Miller shows that a hero is based on bravery, courage, and being kind which John Proctor and Reverend Hale show throughout the story. A hero in the crucible is John Proctor although he is more of a tragic hero he is still a hero. “A man may think god sleeps, but god sees everything, I know it now. I beg you sir,I beg you see- her what she is… she thinks to dance with me on my wife's grave and well she might, for I thought of her softly. God help me, I lusted and there is a promise in such sweat. But it is a whore’s vengeance” (act 3). The character trait being shown is his honesty and bravery to tell the truth even though he did wrong. Saying this is heroic because he knows saying this is going to hurt him but it shows his bravery. This is a sign of bravery and shows his personality throughout the story. Another hero is Reverend Hale even though throughout the story...
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...In any book, the transformation of characters is very important. The characters in 2 particular stories are prime examples of this. The character of Reverend Hale from Arthur Miller’s The Crucible has many similarities to the character of Fred Friendly from George Clooney's Good Night and Good Luck. Miller wrote the play to convey the awfulness of the McCarthy trials, and give a warning of what can happen to societies that oppress people. Reverend Hale and Fred Friendly are both examples of people doing the right thing in the face of apathy. Although they may not have been the driving force of good in either of their respective stories, they were certainly examples of a change of heart for the better in the lives of the people around them. In The Crucible, Reverend Hale is a man who is brought into the...
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...Everyone questions their own faith. At particular points in life, certain afflictions cause people to reconsider what they sincerely accept as truth. During these times, they must reevaluate everything they presume and determine what they genuinely consider correct. Many change because of these because of these decisions. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Reverend John Hale finds himself in a situation in which in he must inquire of his faith and ultimately change himself according to what he truly believes. John Hale, an intelligent man in his early forties, arrives in Salem in the spring of 1692. Arthur Miller gives some insight into how important this calling means to Hale. ”...on being called here to ascertain witchcraft, he felt the pride of the specialist whose unique knowledge has been at last been publicly called for” (Miller 182). With the intention to rid the word of evil, he arrives at Reverend Parris’s house and examines Betty. Hale exhibits confidence that his knowledge will bring peace and salvation to Salem. He speaks strongly of his faith and trust in God and demonstrates strong hope in completing God’s work. Parris...
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...The devil is not the only thing to fear. When rumors of witchcraft start to take over Salem, religious leaders begin to use their power in questionable ways. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the contrast between Reverend Hale's reasoned faith and Reverend Parris’ fearful authoritarian approach to religious thought reflects how personal motivations shape one’s interpretation of religious power. Reverend Hale practices his faith through a reasoned lens, seeking to understand the truth about witchcraft, and uses his power as a religious figure in an attempt to serve religious justice to protect the townspeople. First, when Reverend Hale is introduced, the stage directions characterize him as a man whose “goal is light goodness and its preservation, and he...
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...The Crucible Act Three Questions Short Response Answer the following questions based on your knowledge of the drama. Write a response on a separate sheet of paper. 1. Describe one piece of evidence that Giles, Francis, or Proctor bring before the court to show that the girls are lying. 2. What does Abigail do to distract Danforth from Hale’s accusations that she is lying? 3. How does Hale show that he believes that the court is not doing the right thing? Use three details from the text in your response. 4. Danforth explains that “. . . a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road between.” What conclusion can you draw about Danforth’s character from this line? 5. How does Hale excuse Elizabeth’s lie about Abigail’s affair with Proctor? 6. Danforth explains that witchcraft is an invisible crime and that only the victims are reliable. How does his philosophy flame the hysteria? Use details from the drama to support your response. 7. How do Hale and Parris try to thwart each other, or act as foils, in regards to Danforth and the court? Use details from the drama to support your response. 8. Describe the point at which you think the plot reaches its highest intensity, or climax. 9. After the outbreak in court, Mr. Danforth makes the following short statement to Mr. Hale: I will have nothing from you, Mr. Hale! In your own words, describe what Mr. Hale has said or done to instigate Mr. Danforth’s...
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...Within the confines of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, many of the conflicts—including the more indirect conflict of John Proctor and Reverend Hale—hinge upon the theme of the importance of reputation. In a time when ones good reputation is the cornerstone for a content, healthy existence, it makes sense that reputation is an important recurring theme in The Crucible. John Proctor’s reputation is built upon his willingness to argue for what he thinks is right while managing to stay just this side of being a reputable, upstanding Puritan citizen. This is shown when Proctor is quick to come to verbal blows with Reverend Parris, culminating in Proctor dictating, “I like not the smell of this “authority”” (29). Proctor’s reputation of integrity and...
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...and reacting to situations. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the town of Salem and many of its residents go through a major transformation after the idea of witchcraft is introduced. One character, Reverend John Hale, a visitor from Beverley and a known expert on witchery, undergoes a major character transformation throughout the play. Hale goes from believing in witchcraft and wanting to stop any witches in Salem, to doubting the court, and finally ending with an unshakeable guilt, knowing he is the reason innocent people are being hung for things they did not do. In Act I of the play, Hale is called to Salem to assess Betty Parris' condition. He is confident that the Devil is present, and he will "crush him utterly if he has shown...
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...This quote explains how manipulative people can be very selfish and always blame others, and readers of The Crucible feel this way about Abigail Williams from the beginning. Arthur Miller influences the readers to think that Abigail is manipulative by using stage directions, quotes from other characters in the play, and quotes from Abigail. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller uses a variety of stage directions to formulate the opinion that Abigail in manipulative in the reader’s minds. For example, when Abigail is having her statements questioned for legitimacy, she shifts the court proceedings’ attention to Mary Warren by staring at Mary. Arthur Miller makes Abigail flawlessly throw the attention onto Mary when Miller narrates. The stage directions...
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